


Alya Has Figured It Out

by wavewright62



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Fluff and Humor, Gen, Identity Reveal, tease
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-16
Updated: 2019-11-16
Packaged: 2021-01-29 21:54:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21417268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wavewright62/pseuds/wavewright62
Summary: "Marinette, listen to me.  Iknow.There's no need to hide it anymore."
Relationships: Alya Césaire & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 12
Kudos: 71





	Alya Has Figured It Out

Alya clucked her tongue. Marinette had almost tripped herself up on a loose paving stone around the corner from her family's house and bakery. Alya couldn't help but notice that she'd been scanning the tops of the buildings as they walked together. "Girl, hello? Are you okay?"  
  
Marinette blinked at the footpath as she paused to recover herself. "Uh, yeah, fine."  
  
"That stone has been loose the entire time I've known you, and you always manage to avoid it. So, spill."  
  
"Spill what? Me? I almost did, ha ha," she gave a fake laugh and turned overly wide blue eyes to Alya, but her eyes kept flicking to the rooflines again.  
  
Alya narrowed her eyes. "You're not afraid of Mr Pigeon, are you?"  
  
"What??!! Not him _again!_" Marinette reflexively brought the schoolbooks she'd been hugging to her chest over her head protectively as she scanned the skies over her house.  
  
"Umm, HMM," Alya smirked.  
  
Marinette snapped her eyes to Alya's as she brought the books down. "Alya, ummm-hmmm _WHAT_. What do you mean?"  
  
"Marinette, look at you. You're so jumpy you'd think Adrien was coming down the street with a basket of hamsters."  
  
"IS HE?," she visibly jumped before she recovered herself and pouted at Alya, "You say that like that is a bad thing."  
  
"Ha. No, it's kind of OMG THERE'S AN AKUMA RIGHT-" the rest of the sentence was cut off as Marinette grabbed Alya, thrust her into the side doorway to the bakery, piled her own books into Alya's arms, and whirled to look back where Alya had pointed, then up toward the balcony to her own room on the top storey.  
  
"Get inside, Alya, with my parents." Marinette ignored Alya's protestations as she opened the door behind her friend and nudged her inside, into the cool and fragrant kitchen of the patisserie. She followed her inside, closed the door to a crack and peered out, eyes darting around, but she could see no telltale butterfly. "Where did you see it, Alya?"

From the shop in front of the building, the girls could hear Marinette's father crooning, "Is that you cher Sabine, my sweet? Back so soon?"  
  
"No, Papa, it's Marinette! Where's Maman, I have Alya with me, she saw an akuma, _where's Maman?!_" Alya was snorting with laughter. "What?," Marinette frowned. "It's not funny!"

"It's okay, Monsieur Dupain, there's no akuma, it's just us!" Tom's mustache relaxed into a smile as he went back to the shopfront. They could hear him comforting his customer that the akuma had been a false alarm. "I'm sorry, but you see what I mean, you're on a hair-trigger looking for an akuma.... Marinette." Alya's smile turned rueful as she flinched from Marinette's blue steel gaze. She sighed and put a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Marinette, listen to me. I _know._ There's no need to hide it anymore."

Marinette's eyes became wider than Alya had ever seen them. She double-checked whether her father was within earshot before whispering sotto voce at Alya, "know _what,_ exactly?"

"I know that even if there was an akuma, it would be okay, because Ladybug would be _right here_ to handle it." Alya lifted her chin and smiled, "isn't that right?"

Marinette sputtered but Alya pressed on, "You can't fool me, Marinette. I've seen you marshall everyone to safety whenever there's an akuma attack, but then _you_ can't be found anywhere. You suddenly reappear and make flimsy excuses when it's over." Marinette had gone pale, her faint freckles standing out on her cheeks. "And there's no denying," Alya flicked one of Marinette's ponytails, "the resemblence." 

Marinette flinched when Alya flicked her hair, but then she gripped Alya's shoulders and leaned in close to Alya's face, "Alya, you can't tell anybody, this is TERRIBLE! Don't put this on your BLOG, nobody's supposed to KNOW abo-" but Alya cut off her babbling.

"I totally get why you're looking out all the time. I'd be worried too if _my_ mother was Ladybug!"

Blue eyes stared blankly into hazel as the seconds stretched out. Marinette's lips moved but no words came out. An akuma could have flown around in Marinette's open mouth while she was lost for words. Alya continued, "But your secret is safe with me, Marinette." She smiled reassuringly. "I put two and two together when I met Master Fu. It's a Chinese thing, right? I mean, not every Miraculous holder is Chinese, of course-"

Marinette finally emitted a manic giggle. "Of course, a _Chinese_ thing! Yes! That's what it must be!" She blinked. "Um, Master Fu? Who is Master Fu again?" She backpedalled as she realised that she was not supposed to reveal Master Fu's role.

It was Alya's turn to backpedal as she realised in turn that Marinette might not know who Master Fu was. She bit her lip. "Um, nobody. Nobody at all." Neither girl could meet the other's eyes. Alya finally whispered, "It's just weird that she looks taller as Ladybug."

Marinette giggled, "Oh, that's because you always see her standing next to my father. Everybody looks small next to him."

"I still can't believe my best friend's mother is Ladybug. That is so amazing. You know what?" Marinette shook her head, and Alya continued, "Nino always says her _pain au chocolat_ is nothing short of miraculous. Now we know why."

"Hm, well, if you tell anyone, no more _pain au chocolat_ or macarons for you!" Alya threw up her hands in mock horror. Marinette smirked, "Okay, let's have some now." As Alya preceded her into the shop area, Marinette spared a rueful look at her own face in the mirrored cabinets. That was too close.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry I'm such a tease. Kinda. Sorta.


End file.
